JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Camcorder Review

Still Features Summary
• There are four photo size options with a maximum resolution setting of 3264 x 2448 (8 megapixels). • The digital zoom and macro focus setting also work in photo mode. • All photos are taken at a 4:3 aspect ratio. • In our still image testing, the GC-FM1 didn't do very well. It had worse color accuracy, noise, and sharpness than in our video testing.
	Manual Controls	(Page 8 of 17)	Handling & Use

Still Features (7.71)

The GC-FM1 can capture still photos with a few different size options, but it doesn't have any additional still features. The camcorder has a dedicated photo mode, which is accessed by pressing the video/photo button. In photo mode you can zoom with the up/down d-pad buttons and the start/stop record button acts as a shutter button. You can also switch between normal and macro focus just like in video mode.

To take a photo you don't have to hold the shutter button down halfway to focus—remember, the lens is fixed—so as soon as you push the shutter button the camcorder takes a photo. Strangely, the GC-FM1 has no shutter sound effect when you capture still photos (it has no sound effects in video mode either). This can make it difficult to figure out whether you've actually captured a photo or not.

Photos can only be taken by pushing the button to enter into dedicated photo mode.

To switch between photo sizes on the FM1 you have to double tap the left arrow on the d-pad (the same way you switch sizes in video mode). We find this system very confusing and difficult to figure out without reading the manual. Someone could also accidentially change photo sizes without knowing and have no idea how to switch back. For a camcorder that is designed to be extremely simple, we find this size adjustment system to be a bit too confusing. The FM1's various still image size options are listed in the table below. All of the camcorder's photo size settings capture images at a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Still Color (3.90)

The JVC GC-FM1 didn't do well in our still color testing, which is a shame because it had excellent scores in our video color tests. The camcorder appeared to have difficulty with its auto white balancy system in photo mode—something that showed no sign of a problem in our video testing. We took a variety of photos for our still color test and each reproduced certain colors slightly differently. At best, the FM1 produced a color accuracy of 8.98 with a saturation level of 136.7%. (More on how we test still color.)

The still photography color error map: the length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.

Interestingly, we've noticed this issue before on many ultracompact camcorders. Often, the white balance does not function in photo mode the same way it does in video mode. What is really strange is that the FM1 showed different color tones in every photo we took—it never reproduced colors in exactly the same way. Both the Sony MHS-PM1 and Kodak Zx1 also had troubles in our still color testing. The sample photo from the FM1 shown below doesn't look all that bad, however. Its colors are definitely over saturated and the image is a bit warm, both of which have a negative effect on color accuracy.

JVC GC-FM1 Still Color Comparisons
	No still image capability
JVC GC-FM1	Flip UltraHD
Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1

Still Noise (0.37)

The noise levels on teh FM1's still images were quite high. The camcorder averaged 1.55% noise in our still testing, which is more noise than the camcorder measured in any of our video tests. Both the Kodak Zx1 and Sony MHS-PM1 measured less noise than this, although their noise performances weren't anything to write home about either. We don't have data for the Flip UltraHD because it doesn't capture still photos (in fact, none of the Flip camcorders can take photos). (More on how we test still noise.)

Still Sharpness (0.0)

Despite the fact that the GC-FM1 did amazingly well in our video sharpness test, the camcorder did very poorly with our still sharpness test. The camcorder managed a horizontal sharpness of just 644 lw/ph with 27.7% undersharpening, and a vertical sharpness of 968 lw/ph with 31.2% undersharpening. What really kills the FM1 is this high undersharpening scores, which means the camcorder isn't processing its still images with the optimal amount of sharpness. Honestly, we didn't see anything better from the Sony MHS-PM1 or the Kodak Zx1. In fact, the GC-FM1 had slightly better still sharpness than those two camcorders. The only two ultra compacts that have impressed us with their still capabilities have been the Sanyo VPC-CG10 (very good still phots) and the Sony MHS-CM1 (decent still photos). (More on how we test still sharpness.)

JVC GC-FM1 Comparisons
Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1